The imminent release of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly causing growing anxiety among some rival publishers.
The next installment in the open-world crime franchise, which has sold more than 435 million units in its lifetime, is one of the most anticipated in the industry.
The game, a sequel to 2013’s Grand Theft Auto 5, reached $1 billion in retail sales faster than any other entertainment release in history and has sold more than 205 million units, according to Rockstar owner Take-Two.
The company said last month that the game is targeting its previously announced fall 2025 release window. And according to Bloomberg’s sources, competing game publishers are waiting as long as possible to commit to a release date for next fall.
They claim that they want to see if GTA 6 meets its deadline or is delayed until 2026, with the goal of putting significant distance between the release of their game and Rockstar’s.
Take-Two has said it plans to avoid conflicts with its biggest titles, including next year’s Borderlands 4.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’re not going to pile up a ton of releases unnecessarily, and no one else is going to do that,” CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety last month.
Take-Two confirmed today that the first Borderlands 4 gameplay will be revealed at The Game Awards on December 12th.
